


can we, can we surrender

by ThisJoyAndI



Category: Jane the Virgin (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, I'm a sucker for happy endings okay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-05
Updated: 2015-11-05
Packaged: 2018-04-30 00:40:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5143976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThisJoyAndI/pseuds/ThisJoyAndI
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(i surrender)<br/>When Mateo is four, Jane has her second child. 'She laughs despite the pain, despite the fact that she probably seems like a maniac to anyone passing by her room, because Michael is not just her husband, not just her soulmate, he’s her friend, her best friend.'</p>
            </blockquote>





	can we, can we surrender

When Mateo is four, he becomes a big brother for the second time. It’s only three weeks or so after his fourth birthday that Jane rushes to the hospital early one afternoon, Michael by her side. Thankfully, Mateo is with Raf for the weekend, his father happy to take care of him every other weekend, as per their custody arrangements. She thinks he’s glad for the company, a thought that saddens her. But on the weekends he doesn’t have Mateo, Rafael has his hands full entertaining Anastasia, Petra’s daughter, who even at a mere three years old has her daddy wrapped around her finger in much the same way Jane imagines Petra did when they were together. Ana is light where Mateo is dark, but the differences between them (physically and otherwise) have never bothered the pair, and on the weekend they both spend time with Rafael they, apparently, according to her son, have the ‘best time ever!’

Having a child has been good for Petra. Ana might be spoiled rotten between Petra and Rafael, but she makes Petra happy, perhaps in a way no man could ever do. And after all the miscarriages, all the tragedies, Jane is glad that Petra finally has a child to hold in her arms. At her hastily thrown together baby shower, Petra had broken down in her bedroom, tearfully confessing to Jane that she’d never thought she’d ever actually have a baby, never thought that she’d make it this far into a pregnancy without waking up to blood on her sheets like she had so made times before.

But she had, and little Ana is three years old now, mischievous and adorable.

And now there’s going to be another addition to their odd little family.

Jane thinks she’s having a boy, merely because she’s been craving the same things she was when she was pregnant with Mateo and she’s carrying this baby the same way she carried Mateo, all bump. She and Michael chose not to find out, to keep the gender a surprise, and she’s enjoyed not knowing, really. As long as the baby’s healthy, that’s her mantra.

She became Mrs. Michael Cordero almost a year after Mateo was born, in a close-knit, afternoon church ceremony, and although they hadn’t decided to try for a baby so soon after marrying, not when Mateo was so young, they hadn’t actively _not_ been trying either.  That’s why it had been so surprising, why it is still so surprising, that it had taken her three years to conceive, when she’d fallen pregnant so easily with Mateo, frozen sperm, wrong point on her ovulation cycle and all.

But good things come to those who wait, she’d constantly reminded herself, and sure enough, they had. Michael had whooped with joy the day she told him, gathering her in his arms and spinning her around their living room, Mateo clapping his hands together excitedly, unsure what was occurring but happy to celebrate nonetheless.

And now, it’s finally time to meet her second child. Despite the pain, she can barely keep the grin off of her lips as Michael hurries to the hospital, fully taking advantage of his status as a detective to drive much faster than he really should be. She supposes that he’s justified in speeding, her husband more nervous than the day they married, and as another contraction shoots through her, she’s thankful for his lead-foot.

“Nearly there, Janey,” he assures her, his free hand grabbing hers and squeezing tight.

She squeezes back, trying to smile but grimacing instead.

\---

There was no reason for Michael to hurry after all, because it’s been three hours and their baby still hasn’t made much progress at all. Everyone’s been notified, Rafael included, and now all there’s left to do is play the waiting game, her baby stubbornly refusing to enter the world. Jane’s opted for another epidural, thankful for the marvels of modern medicine, and Michael’s tied her hair up high on her head, pressing a cool cloth to her clammy forehead.

She’s just gritted her way through yet another contraction, with no epidural seemingly in sight, when Michael grins at her. “I know what’ll make you feel better,” he tells her, pulling his phone out of his jeans with his free hand. Jane almost rolls her eyes at him, because really? She’s in labour, in immense pain, and her husband thinks a stupid kitten video that’s gone viral on YouTube is going to make her feel better? Okay, yeah, it might distract her from the pain she’s experiencing for whatever the length of the video may be, but it isn’t going to make her ‘feel better’. Getting this baby out of her body, that’s what is going to make her feel better…and she just doesn’t understand what is taking the nurse so long! It’s only a freaking epidural, not open-heart surgery.

But after her latest contraction has subsided and her ears register the opening chords of ‘Push It’ beginning to play, she forgets all about the nurse’s incompetence. Instead, Jane grins and laughs uncontrollably, Michael’s hand in hers, his shoulders shimmying in time to the music and his voice murmuring, “Ahh, push it.”

She laughs despite the pain, despite the fact that she probably seems like a maniac to anyone passing by her room, because Michael is not just her husband, not just her soulmate, he’s her friend, her _best_ friend – aside from Lina, of course. He knows her inside and out, and he’d do anything to put a smile on her face, even now, with contractions wracking her body. So he sings along to the music, concern etched on his brow but a grin spreading across his lips, and for perhaps the millionth time, Jane knows she made the right choice. She’ll always care deeply for Rafael, will always share a connection with him through Mateo, but she doesn’t love him. Not in the way she loves Michael. Even when they weren’t together, even when it seemed like they weren’t going to make it, some part of her loved him and she’s so glad she found that part before it was too late.

He loves her, she loves him, and they’re going to love this baby so so so much.

And that’s probably why when Michael goes to repeat the song moments after the music fades out she grabs his hand and makes him stop. Despite the lack of movement from their baby, she’s not risking it. There’s no freaking way her child is being born to the sounds of ‘Push It’, no matter how hilarious it would be. 

\---

One epidural and two more hours later, Jane pushes for the last time and falls back onto the bed, satisfied with the sound of squalling coming from her newest child. The nurse scoops her up and walks to the other side of the room to clean her up, Michael presses tender kisses to her hands over and over again and Jane grins.

“Here we go,” the nurse murmurs, their baby clean and pink and seemingly blessed with a set of lungs to rival her grandmother’s. “Mom and Dad, meet your baby girl.”

“A girl?” Michael repeats, eyes wide and mouth agape.

“A girl!” Jane confirms, tears welling in her eyes. “Michael…a girl.” The nurse places their baby into Jane's awaiting arms, their daughter wide-eyed and making soft noises. Michael clambers up on the bed, kneeling beside her as he looks at their daughter.

“She’s so perfect,” he breathes, outstretching a finger for her to grab. He sobs softly, pressing a kiss to Jane’s awaiting, upturned mouth. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” he repeats against her lips. “Thank you so much.”

“My pleasure,” she tells him, grinning down at their daughter. “Hey, baby girl,” she coos. “I’m your mama. I’m so happy that you’re finally here. And this is your daddy,” Jane murmurs, lacing her hand with Michael’s. “He’s going to love you so much.”

Michael nods eagerly at the thought, grinning into Jane’s hair as he locks eyes with their daughter, blue against blue.

Her mother weeps at the sight of her granddaughter, her abuela smiling contently as she holds the newest addition to their family. Even Rafael and her dad tear up, but Jane thinks that nothing can beat Michael’s reaction, the pure joy on his face as he met his child. Biology aside, Mateo is his son, she knows that, but the little girl in her arms is Michael’s child through and through, and she’s so grateful that she got the chance to live this life with him.

\---

“I don’t know anything about raising a daughter,” Michael confesses, his voice almost a whisper. He thinks she’s asleep, their daughter safe in a hospital crib beside her, but really, she’s just resting her eyes. She’s dying to hear what Michael wants to say, and although she knows he’d confess it to her when the time was right, perhaps it is better that he speaks to Rafael. “I only have a brother, I’ve never been around my cousins’ babies long enough to really understand how to take care of them, and Mateo’s easily pleased. But a girl? I don’t have a clue about how to take care of a girl.”

Rafael merely laughs, and from the sound of it, places a hand soundly on Michael’s shoulder. She lifts her eyelids, just a little, to watch the two of them, both standing in the doorway. “Neither did I, trust me. I was so sure that Petra would have a boy, so sure in fact, that when she told me that our child was a girl, I nearly fainted in the hospital room.” Rafael furrows his brow in thought. “That was probably the best place for such a reaction,” he says, chuckling.

Her son's father, and Jane watches from her hospital bed as he turns to Michael, a smile on his lips. “Honestly, I still have no clue what I’m doing with Ana. You’re right, Mateo’s easy. I think that particular personality trait must come from Jane,” he murmurs, amused. “Luisa can definitely attest to the fact that I wasn’t a very patient child.”

Jane smiles at the compliment, a hand stretching out to lazily trace her daughter’s cheek. Mateo may be easily pleased, but there have definitely been some moments that have tried her, some moments when she’s looked at her son and seen nothing but his father, Mateo furious in the way only a small child can be.

“Anyway,” Rafael says, apparently now back on track. “I may have no clue what I’m doing with Ana, but I've had a couple of years experience and I’m here. For you and for Jane, of course, but _especially_ for you. Anytime you feel overwhelmed, I’m your guy. Between the two of us, we should be able to raise a couple of girls, right?”  

Michael chuckles, inhaling deeply. “Fingers crossed,” he replies. He looks over his shoulder at Jane, who has now given up any pretence of being asleep, and smiles at the sight of his wife caressing their newborn daughter tenderly, almost reverently. Rafael follows his line of sight and nudges Michael in the shoulder.

“Go, get back in there,” he tells Michael. “I’m about to head off anyway, it’s way past Mateo’s bedtime,” he says, hoisting his son onto his hip, Mateo’s eyes drooping and his head easily slumping onto his father’s shoulder. “Say goodbye to your mama, Mateo.”

Mateo waves tiredly at Jane, Jane blowing him kiss after kiss from her bed. “Sleep well baby,” she says. “You can come and see me and your sister in the morning, alright? Be good for your daddy.”

“Yes, Mama,” her son replies, and Rafael presses a kiss to the crown of his head.

“Congratulations again Jane,” Rafael announces, a sentiment that warms her heart. He claps his hand yet again onto Michael’s shoulder. “And I mean it Michael, anytime. Any questions you have about daughters, I’m your guy.”

“I appreciate that,” Michael says, shaking Rafael’s free hand. “Really, I do.”

Michael comes and joins her moments after Rafael has disappeared from sight, her son already asleep in his father's arms. He takes her hand, thumb tracing soft circles over her skin and presses a kiss to her forehead. “Hi,” he murmurs against her skin, a hand tucking stray hairs behind her ear.

“Hi,” she responds. “So, I hear you’re nervous about having to raise a daughter?” she teases, half-admiring the man in front of her and half-admiring the way their daughter’s little nose crinkles every time she takes a deep breath, swaddled tightly in the hospital supplied pink blanket.

Michael groans, shaking his head at her. “You weren’t supposed to hear that,” he tells her, settling himself on the bed beside her. Her head easily falls back onto his chest, their entwined hands resting on her stomach. “At least, not yet. I wanted to appear all suave and cool, not be that weirdo who freaks out about not knowing how to raise a girl when he should be celebrating the fact that his child is perfect and his wife is a fantastic human being for giving him such a gift.”

“I like that you freaked out,” Jane admits. “But trust me, you have nothing to worry about. You’re going to be a fantastic dad, and unless she takes after my mother, which hopefully, she won’t, our daughter will be top of her class, a total over-achiever and in bed by ten every night. And having a detective for a dad will definitely scare away all the boys,” she murmurs, idly playing with Michael’s wedding band.

“That’s definitely why I chose my career. The 'being able to scare away boys' factor was #1 on my list of requirements for a job. Not medical benefits or good salary, nope.” Michael sighs dramatically. “I always knew that one day I would be cursed with a daughter, so I planned ahead.”

“Shut up,” Jane yawns out. “You’ve only been planning for this day since the night you met me, admit it.”

Instead of answering, Michael presses a kiss to her hand. “We still haven’t decided on a name,” he reminds her, Jane almost drifting off into exhausted sleep before he speaks.

And they haven’t. Unlike Mateo, whose name was clear the moment he was born, their gorgeous daughter is hours old by now, and still without a name. Guilt settles in her stomach and she turns her head up to Michael’s, brow furrowed. “I can’t believe we haven’t named her yet,” she almost sobs out, tears welling in her eyes. “She’s five hours old, Michael, and she still doesn’t have a name! I’m the worst mother in the world.”

Michael holds her to him, shushing her softly. “No you aren’t,” he tells her. “You know you aren’t. You’re the best mother I know, and our daughter is never going to even know that we didn’t name her right away. And besides, it’s not like we had any time at all to think about it, not with all our visitors,” he reminds her, gently stroking her hair. “But, if it makes you feel any better, we can decide right now...if you want.”

“I’d like that,” she says. “So, on the count of three, we’ll both say what name we like?”

Michaels nods, and holds three fingers up. “Three, two, one.”

“I like Isidora?” Jane says, shrugging. “It means gift, and I thought, well, she is a gift. She’s my gift from you, and vice versa.”

“I was thinking Nina,” Michael counters. “I know that when you thought Mateo was going to be a girl,” Jane laughs at the memory, softly, so she doesn’t wake her daughter up, “that you loved that name. And after you went through all the pain to bring her into the world, you should name her whatever you want.” He looks at her, smiling. “Honestly, it’s enough just to have you and her. And Mateo too, of course.”

She smiles at the sentiment, because isn’t that just so like Michael? His first child, and he’s willing to let her name their daughter whatever she so desires, even if it is a name that she would have used on her child with another man, if that child had turned out to be girl like she’d thought, not a beautiful little boy with a mop of dark hair.

“Okay then,” she says, nodding. “It’s decided.”

Michael arches an eyebrow at her in question, placing a gentle hand on their squirming daughter to settle her, doing so with expertise after years of practise with Mateo. “So?” he questions.

“Isidora Gloriana Nina Cordero,” she tells him. “Izzy for short.”

“Izzy,” Michael murmurs, testing out the name on his tongue. Their daughter looks up at him, and Jane hopes that her eyes shall stay as blue as her father’s. He looks back at Jane, nodding. “Jane, it’s perfect.”

And it is. It _always_ will be, as long as Michael is by her side. 

**Author's Note:**

> PRAYER CIRCLE FOR JANE AND MICHAEL TO END UP TOGETHER FOREVER 2K15 
> 
> And I swear if they make Petra have a miscarriage I will cry she might not be the nicest character but goddamnit she deserves to be happy.


End file.
